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2013-14 Season
The 2013–14 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 88th season for the NHL. The Blackhawks were attempting to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, a feat that had not been accomplished in the NHL since the Detroit Red Wings won consecutive championships in 1997 and 1998. They finished the season in 3rd place in the Central Division and 5th place in the Western Conference with a record of 46-21-15. Their home record was 27-7-7 and their road record was 19-14-8. Regular Season As the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Blackhawks kicked off the 2013–14 regular season on October 1, 2013 with a 30-minute banner-raising ceremony at the United Center to celebrate their historical 2012–13 season. The banners were raised to mark the Blackhawks's clinch of the Central Division, Western Conference, Presidents' Trophy and the Stanley Cup Championship. The Blackhawks then went on to defeat the Washington Capitals in its home opener, and became the first team since the 2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins to do so. However, unlike the previous season where the Blackhawks were undefeated for the first six games of the season, they quickly fell against the Tampa Bay Lightning and division rival St. Louis Blues in the next two games. On October 15, with a win against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Blackhawks celebrated its 2,500th regular season win in franchise history. On January 29, 2014 with a win against the Vancouver Canucks, Joel Quenneville reached 693 coaching wins, moving him into sole possession of 3rd place in all-time wins. On February 3, 2014, the Blackhawks played their 6,000th regular season game in franchise history with a 5–3 win over the Los Angeles Kings. On March 1, 2014, the Blackhawks played in their 2nd outdoor game in franchise history at Soldier Field (home of the NFL's Chicago Bears). The outdoor game was in part of the new NHL Stadium Series. The Blackhawks hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins as Captains Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby would play against each other for the first time ever in their NHL careers. In front of a sold out crowd of 62,921, the Blackhawks defeated the Penguins 5-1 in a classic winter storm setting. On March 19, 2014 (with a win against the rival St. Louis Blues, Joel Quenneville reached 700 coaching wins. Playoffs The Blackhawks qualified for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. As the 3rd seed in the Central division, the Blackhawks played the 2nd seed of the Central against the St. Louis Blues in the season's new playoff format. During the first round against the St. Louis Blues the Blackhawks fell to an early 2–0 deficit in the series with two overtime losses of 4–3 each in St. Louis. The Blackhawks would rally back with 4 consecutive wins to win the best of 7 series. In game 3, Corey Crawford's stellar performance earned him a 2–0 shutout and the 1st star of the game. In Game 4, the Blackhawks had a 2–1 lead until the Blues tied the game with 4.6 seconds left in the 2nd period. The Blues would take the lead in the 3rd period with 7:33 left. The Blackhawks tied the game at 3 with Bryan Bickell's redirect with 3:52 left. In overtime, Patrick Kane would score the game-winning goal with 8:43 left in the game. With the series tied 2, game 5 would return to St. Louis with another overtime game as Jonathan Toews scored on a breakaway with 12:25 left to take a 3–2 series lead back to Chicago. In game 6, the Hawks would take 1–1 tie into the 3rd period. The Blackhawks would score 4 goals from Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw and Duncan Keith to win the game 5–1 and the series 4–2. The Blackhawks played the Minnesota Wild in the Second Round (a rematch of the 2013 Conference Quarterfinals where the Hawks won in 5 games), but this time around, the Blackhawks defeated them in 6 games. On May 4, 2014, Joel Quenneville won his 800th coached NHL game for both the regular season and playoffs combined. The Blackhawks won Game 2 against the Wild 4–1. In a back-and-forth series against the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Finals, the Blackhawks lost in 7 games. Team Leaders *Goals: Patrick Sharp (34) *Assists: Duncan Keith (55) *Points: Patrick Sharp (78) *Penalties in minutes (PIM): Brandon Bollig (92) *Plus/minus: (+) Marian Hossa (+28); (–) Bryan Bickell (–6) *Wins: Corey Crawford (32) *Goals against average: Corey Crawford (2.26) Awards Transactions Player Trades Acquired Free Agents Lost Free Agents Players Claimed Via Waivers Players Lost Via Waivers Player Signings Draft Picks Category:Seasons